Conventional water slides involve a form of tube, half round, or other slide structure having a jet or film of water flowing across the surface to reduce friction for riders. Generally, gravity is used as the primary motive force to propel the riders along the slide. The riders may also use mats or riding tubes to reduce further the friction between the rider and the surface of the slide. The reduced friction enables sliding riders to move easily and rapidly along the slide. In some cases, the water slide may include small water jets to assist in propelling the riders along the slide. At the end of the water slide, the riders are discharged into some form of pool.
Water slides typically provide structure to retain or conserve the flowing water within the slide and to re-direct riders as they travel along the slide. Gravity imparts an initial potential energy to the rider that is converted to kinetic energy, which as noted above, may be enhanced by water jets. Thus, the beginning of the slide must be positioned at some considerable elevation for the rider to begin sliding with available potential energy. During the slide, riders are separated or isolated by guiding structure for protection and for redirection.
It would be desirable to have a water ride that uses a form of energy different from the potential energy in elevation. Further, it would be useful to have a water ride that produces a sliding effect, but in which the riders are not isolated from each other until the discharge pool.